Assembly Member Cheryl Brown Taking A Part of U.S. History

I am so proud of my wife Assembly Member Cheryl Brown, a Hillary Clinton delegate from California, and participant in this historic moment in American politics.

Cheryl’s mother Melba Glanton Minter and her father in law Floyd Brown would be so proud of her because they were both active democrats when they were alive. They were on the cutting edge of getting our people the right to vote and facing overt racial and gender discrimination of every kind. They never became bitter or hateful at those who opposed them, they just kept on helping to elect people who believed in inclusion, social justice for everyone and equality of all people.

Cheryl’s mother started her political activity in Los Angeles with Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Mayor Tom Bradley before either of them was ever elected to office. Floyd Brown, on the other hand, was in Jones County, North Carolina during the 1940’s through the 80’s and got Cheryl involved with community issues every time we went home on vacation.

They always told her that one day a woman would be elected president and a Black would occupy the office as well. They did not know when or how soon and that Cheryl would be a delegate to the convention where it would happen.

This is what I love about the United States of America’s political process with all of its ups and downs. One has to stay engaged with the community and keep the faith that people of goodwill will do the right thing. I understand Saint Paul when he said that the race is not won by the swift but by the one who endures until the end. However, I like the way it is expressed in Ecclesiastes 9:11: Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

But “time and chance” happens to them all. It happened to Barack Obama and is now happening to Hillary Clinton. This is a lesson for all of us to learn about life. You must hang in there even when it appears everything is against you.

Rudyard Kipling put it this way in his poem If:

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt
you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your
master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your
aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to,
broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out
tools:

Blacks have had worn out tools since we have been in this country, yet we build. Women of all colors have been doubted by men in every way possible, yet they excel. We must admire those who do not give up in this race for full equality in America and around the world. I am proud of President Barack Obama and future President Hillary Clinton and Assembly Member Cheryl Brown for staying in the marathon race to make our country move towards a more perfect union.